Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

PRC defense chief objects to US arms sales

Taipei Times

Chinese Minister of National Defense General Liang Guanglie (梁光烈) reiterated his country’s objections to US arms sales to Taiwan during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in Beijing on Monday.

“China’s position has been clear and consistent — we are against it,” he told a joint press conference with Gates, who is on a four-day visit to China.

Japan’s opposition calls for closer ties with Taiwan, FTA

Taipei Times

A high-ranking politician in Japan’s main opposition party yesterday called for closer Japan-Taiwan relations and bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Economic Forum in Taipei organized by Commonwealth Magazine with the theme of “The Rise of New Asia: Asia’s Conflicts, Growth and the New Future,” Yuriko Koike, chairwoman of the General Council under the Liberal Democratic Party, also said a strong Japan-US relationship would serve Taiwan’s interests.

Fighting for abolition of preferential treatment

Lin Chia 林洽

Monthly pension payments, national health insurance, an 18 percent interest rate: Describing this combination as “the best retirement system in the world” is a misnomer; it is not a retirement system — it is a tool to perpetuate class differences and oppress the public.

Commodity prices in Taiwan are lower than in Europe or North America. In terms of purchasing power, monthly retirement payments and national health insurance make military personnel, civil servants and teachers in Taiwan some of the most privileged groups in the world. The 18 percent interest rate is worth perhaps another NT$30,000 extra every month, which means a retired soldier, civil servant or teacher can earn anything from NT$60,000 to more than NT$100,000 per month. This is not retirement, it is an extortion racket.

Economic policy is flawed: think tank

Taipei Times

Taiwan Brain Trust yesterday said it would not oppose the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) as long as Beijing did not prevent Taiwan from signing free-trade agreements (FTA) with other major trading partners. However, it criticized the government’s economic policy — and its reliance on China — as flawed and misguided.

The trust’s chairman, former vice premier Wu Rong-i (吳榮義), said China represented about 70 percent of the nation’s total overseas investment, while 42 percent of Taiwan’s exports went to China and Hong Kong, making Taiwan economically vulnerable via-a-vis China.

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